Be r ke le y U n i t e d Me t h o d i s t Ch u r c h Volume 39, Issue 10
O c to b e r 2 2 , 2 0 0 9
BERKELEY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH Non Profit Org.
2407 Berkeley Ave. U.S. Postage Paid
Austin, TX. 78745
(512)447-6633
Email: bumc78745@sbcglobal.net
Permit #2713
Austin, Texas THE BERKELEY BUZZ
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
Berkeley
United Methodist Church
2407 Berkeley Ave.
Austin, TX 78745
(512) 447-6633
Fax: 851-8438
bumc78747@sbcglobal.net
www.berkeleyumc.org
Childcare Center: 443-3509
Ministers
Members of the Congregation
Pastor
Rev. Jeannie Whitehurst
Youth Director
Paul Seeman
The discipline of gratitude Director of Music
Victoria Schwarz
Pianist
Gratitude … goes beyond the “mine” and “thine” and claims the truth Tyler Mabry
that all of life is a pure gift. In the past I always thought of gratitude
as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but now Administrative Assistant
Tara Nash
I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. The discipline
of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and Childcare Director
Allison McGillicuddy
have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy.
—Henri J.M. Nouwen
A WORD FROM PASTOR JEANNIE
“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up
their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose
it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. What does it profit
them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves?” Jesus
speaking in Luke 9:23-25 NRSV.
Have you ever asked yourself, as I have, ―Am I a real Christian, a true
follower of Christ? Or, am I caught up in the worlds‘ view of Christianity that
is more about institutional religion?‖
I want with all my heart, mind, and soul to be a true follower of Christ
living each day with God guiding each word and action. Rev. Michael Slaugh-
ter in Money Matters says; ―There is no better gauge of our priorities and val-
ues than the way we spend money… it is the window to our worldview‖ (p.87).
To follow Christ in all of life requires trust, sacrifice, and letting God be in con-
trol. Jesus said, ―If you want to be my follower, then deny yourself, take up
your cross daily, and follow me‖.
During our recent Stewardship Campaign you have heard the needs
of the church as we try to grow in spirit and compassion as a congregation.
Our purpose is not to raise money and spend it. Our purpose is service and
ministry in God‘s name. At the core of our faith is that we are gathered as
Christians to preach Christ and minister in his name. Our gifts of time, talent,
presence, witness, and money are gifts to God in response to God‘s love for
us. It is given with joy, not obligation or guilt. The decision about how much
money to give to the church has as much to do with your spiritual needs as it
does with the needs of the church.
Our national Thanksgiving celebration reminds us to acknowledge the
bounteous gifts we have as a nation and as a people. As a community of
faith, we are called to share the bounty we have with those who are less for-
tunate. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodism, believed that the faithful
are to live on a small percentage of their earnings then give the rest to the
poor. Wesley‘s challenging concept calls us to remember the revolutionary
and transformative message of Christ. To be a follower of Christ is calling
each of us to a sacrificial giving of ourselves. When we state the Berkeley
Mission Statement ―Serving God, Sharing Christ, Receiving Mercy‖, we are
declaring our intention to fulfill the scripture to ―deny themselves and take up
their cross daily and follow me.‖ Are you willing to give up your own needs
and wants (those established by society as essentials) to follow Christ?
~Pastor Jeannie
Serving God +++Sharing Christ+++Receiving Mercy
P age 2 V o l um e 3 9 , I s s ue 1 0 T H E B E R K EL E Y B U Z Z P age 7

All Saints' Day is the day we as Christians give thanks for all the good people God has placed in
our lives, especially those who are already with God in heaven. It is also a day when we give Honduras Mission—Transforming Faith Into Action
thanks for the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in the lives of all people. It is not be- SUBMITTED BY CAROLYN BROWN
cause people are special in and of themselves that we call them saints, but it is because they
are ordinary, everyday people who allow the Holy Spirit to work through them, doing the mighty Imagine – living in unsanitary conditions, drinking water that makes you sick, not enough food for your family, no elec-
deeds of the Lord. Martin Luther writes, "the Holy Scriptures call Christians saints and the peo- tricity, no running water, no medical care, no way of earning a living, no schools. These are some of the things that Honduras
Outreach, Inc. has been working on for the past 21 years. Each mission team does a little, and together they have made a tre-
ple of God. To forget that we are saints is to forget Christ and to forget our baptism."
mendous impact on the lives of the people in the Agalta Valley of Honduras. Conditions are better, but there is more work to be
done. Tarrytown UMC is sponsoring this trip once again, and I plan to go with them from January 23-30, 2010, representing
All Saints is a day for remembering and giving thanks, as Christians remember the good people they have known and give Berkeley UMC. This year the TUMC team will focus on three areas: education, construction, and medical.
thanks for the unending goodness of God. Please join us on Sunday, November 1st as Berkeley celebrates and honors its
How can you help?
saints that left us this past year:
Pray – for the ranch, the country of Honduras, the Honduran people, and the mission team
Brenda Pusateri
Books – We need books in Spanish for Kindergarten-age children
Jack Collins
Supplies – There will be a list of supplies later. Wait to buy until I have the list.
Millie Tower
Donate – Your monetary contributions will help offset the cost of the trip.
Cornelia Moore Go with me!
Jean Ridenour Do you remember our conversations last year about being ―at risk in mission‖? Here is your chance to step outside of
Annabelle Stroman your box and take a chance. It‘s not too late to decide to go on the trip. I encourage you to pray about this and consider making
the commitment to this mission. You will be taking part in an important ministry, and you will gain as much as you give. You do
not need to speak Spanish.
1. The church establish and maintain a fund to be known as
Church Conference Report the ―Capital Fund‖ and to be used exclusively for:
For more information, please call me at 443-2600 by October 31. After that, questions can be directed to Patrick Pey-
ton of TUMC. He can be reached during the day at 453-6501 or by email at ppeyton@louisshanksfurniture.com.
SUBMITTED BY MYRNA CAVENDER (1) acquisition, construction, repair or renovation of build-
ings or other permanent improvements including capi-
In the well-attended church conference on Sunday, Oct. 11,
many members spoke articulately, passionately, and re-
spectfully regarding how the monies in the Building Fund
tal equipment OR
(2) for service of debt incurred for any of those purposes
You Can Save 100 Lives! Yes, You!
SUBMITTED BY JULIA LANCASTER AND RON MEADE
can be used. After much thoughtful discussion, presided
over by elder Rev. Sharon Freeto, the majority voted to 2. The balance of any current church account commonly
change the name of this fund to ―Capital Fund.‖ This fund is
The UMC has an exciting new campaign month. Lives saved: 100.
identified as the ‗Building Fund‘, including proceeds previ- underway. It‘s entitled Imagine No Malaria and
still to be used primarily for the debt retirement on the CLC
ously designated for retirement of the debt on the building
Imagine…being part of a larger church
but may [with the approval of the Finance Committee and is a comprehensive approach, which addresses body that is known for COMPLETELY eradicat-
Administrative Council] also be used for necessary capital known as the Christian Life Center, are to be credited to the
Capital Fund and available for purpose of the Capital Fund.
prevention, access to care, and education. And ing malaria and saving hundreds of thousands
expenditures. We trust our leaders to keep an appropriate
balance in the fund to cover short falls. The entire resolution the ―kickoff‖ started right here in the Austin of lives. That idea is motivating and exciting!
is listed below: 3. Church affirms its intent to pay off the CLC by 2013. District! Yes, we are the first district in the UMC Won‘t you join us?
to implement this campaign. What pressure! You can learn more about the cam-
Be it resolved that: 4. Revised giving cards will be sent out based on the change What excitement! What can you do to get in-
and will now indicate Capital Fund instead of Building Fund, paign at the either of the web sites listed be-
volved? low; both sites will take you to the same UMC
effective January 1, 2010.
A goal in Imagine No Malaria is to en- page: www.umc.org/imaginenomalaria or
courage individuals to make a three-year finan- www.umc.org/nets
Stewardship Campaign Update cial pledge - as part of the Impact 100 Society -
to help the UMC eradicate malaria in (initially)
Send a Net. Save A Life.
Thank you to the congregation for your continued support during the Stewardship Campaign. We kicked off the cam- Sierra Leone, Africa. For example, a Seed
paign a month ago and we‘re making some progress. As you can see from the figures below we‘ve received a number of pledges Imagine No Malaria: Prevention - Treatment - Education
and our goal is within reach, but we still need your help.
Planter (Mark 4:31), the lowest commitment
And, the goal: Malaria, Eradicated!
If you haven‘t yet returned your Estimate of Giving card, please prayerfully consider your gifts of God and making a con- level, is $1,000 over three-years or $28 a
tribution to the growth and missions of Berkeley. Here‘s what we‘ve received to date:

General Fund 2009 2010 Anticipated/Not yet received

Number of Pledges 71 54 27
Amount Pledged $184,580 $146,784 $57,770 AVERAGE ATTENDANCE: GIFTS AS OF SEPT. 30: MEMORIAL FUND:
SEPTEMBER 2009 YTD 2008 MONTHLY INCOME: $17,456 $9,724.28
Debt Retirement /Building Fund 2009 2010 Anticipated/Not yet received
Number of Pledges 30 29 13 WORSHIP 145 144 134 ENDOWMENT FUND:
Amount Pledged $22,860 $21,320 $1,540 SUNDAY SCHOOL 47 43 40 MONTHLY EXPENSE: $19,335 $53,027.11
May we continue to do our very best to meet the needs of our church as we Serve God, Share Christ, and Receive Mercy.
P age 6
V o l um e 3 9 , I s s ue 1 0 T H E B E R K EL E Y B U Z Z P age 3

YOU’VE BEEN BUZZED, PHYLLIS COOMBS!

SUBMITTED BY RACHEL TRUDELL

Phyllis reluctantly, but kindly, agreed to be
the very first Buzzed interviewee as I cornered her
at our Sunday Night Covenant Group! Thank you,
Phyllis, for being the test run of this new column!
Phyllis has been a Berkeley member for 25
years and is currently Chair of the Finance Commit-
tee. She first came to Berkeley through her asso-
ciation with the Wesley Student Foundation at the
University of Texas and started attending regularly
when Kim Cape was pastor. She made the decision
to join because ―it was small and friendly and felt
like a community of people who were really con-
cerned and related.‖ Having a father in the Navy
she moved around a lot growing up, and finished
school in Waco where her father retired.
Phyllis has had an interesting career his-
tory.! She was a Latin American specialist, which led
to statistics, which led to computer analysis, which
led to health care finance, and then worked as Fi-
nancial Analyst for the Comptroller‘s Office. ―That is
the last thing I ever thought I‘d do! I thought I‘d be
a college professor of comparative governments.‖
She found the Comptroller‘s Office very interesting
and said ―God did me a favor‖ allowing her to work
in something really involving.
Phyllis shares her ―peaceable kingdom‖
with one dog, Maggie, and three marmalade cats,
two sisters and one male—who all get along! In her
down time she enjoys the poetry and writing in the
―Rumpole of the Bailey‖ mystery series. And did
you know she‘s been training in Tai Chi for twelve
years? She trains and teaches in the most popular
form, the Yang Family style. She also studies the
saber and straight sword forms. Look out!
We hope you enjoyed the first edition of
You‘ve Been Buzzed. See you next month!

Peaceful Anticipation
SUBMITTED BY DONNA BOSTICK

As has been our custom for the

past several years, the Spiritual
Care Committee will once again
open the sanctuary from 6:30 to
7:30 p.m. on November 30th, De-
Answers to Religious Literacy Quiz Covenant Group cember 1st, and December 3rd &
4th. We invite the congregation
Submitted by Barbara Huff
Information Dear Berkeley Family— and friends to steal away from
1. Name the four Gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John Submitted by Donna Bostick Mollie and I wish to thank the congrega- the hustle and bustle of Christ-
2. Name a sacred text of Hinduism. The Upanishads, the Bagavad Gita, the tion for all their support during Cornelia‘s mas ―busy-ness‖, and spend a few moments in quiet
Kama Sutra Spiritual Care Committee has be- long illness. We appreciate all the
contemplation of the true meaning of Christmas, or
3. What is the holy book of Islam? The Koran gun looking at Berkeley‘s cove- prayers, supportive comments, and for
gifts of volunteer time given over an ex- just take a much-needed breather. With candlelight,
4. According to the Bible, where was Jesus born? Bethlehem nant groups, with an eye towards soft, seasonal music, and decorations, we hope to pre-
5. When former President George W. Bush spoke of the Jericho road in his first forming new groups and/or invit- tended period.
inaugural address, what Bible story was he invoking? The Good Samaritan sent the sanctuary as a true haven of peace as we an-
ing new members into existing With love,
6. Name the first 5 books of the Hebrew Bible or the Christian Old Testament. ticipate the miracle of Jesus‘ birth.
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
groups. Stay tuned Hugh Moore
7. What is the Golden Rule? Do unto others as you would have them do unto as we gather infor-
you. mation from exist- The Berkeley community is happy to welcome
8. Is ―God helps those who help themselves‖ in the Bible? If so, where? No ing groups, and put Thank Heaven for Little Girls! two new additions! Emma Isabella Huff-
9. Is ―Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God‖ in the out interest/sign- Sifuentes was born on September 29th to
Bible? If so, where? Yes, the Beatitudes, part of the Sermon on the Mount in up sheets. More to
Matthew.
Emily Huff and Jonathan Sifuentes. Proud grandparents are Chris and Barbara Huff. Ady
10. What words can be found in the Catholic, Protestant and Jewish versions of come … Wren Ursin was born on October 13th to Elke and August Ursin. Proud grandparents are
the First Commandment? I am the Lord your God. Ineke and Glenn Dunn. Congratulations to these families on their new blessings!
Page 4 V o l um e 3 9 , I s s ue 1 0 T H E B E R K EL E Y B U Z Z P a ge 5

Each Week:
SUNDAY
6:30 am Work Corner Prep
8:30 am Worship
9:00 am Children‘s and Youth Choir
9:40 am Sunday School
11/3 Roy Holsenbeck
10:50 am Worship
11/3 Lila Smallwood
5:30 pm UMYF (FH)
5:30 pm Covenant Group (9) 11/4 Julia Wasson
5:30 pm Financial Peace (7) 11/6 Karen Walters
11/8 Chris Huff
MONDAY
10:00 am Women‘s Group (7) 11/10 Kathy Beth Stavinoha

Serve 7:00 pm Covenant Group 11/13

11/17
Louise Jennings
Greg Lasley
the WEDNESDAY
10:00 am CC Chapel
11/21 Christopher Carlton
LORD 6:00 pm Handbells 11/21 John Finley

with
7:00 pm Choir 11/21 John Platt
11/25 Helen Campbell
ss
Gladne
THURSDAY
6:30 pm Disciple One Bible Study (FH) 11/26 Charles Jennings
11/26 Ruth McPhail
11/29 Lucky Noll
Outreach and Stewardship will co-host the Fifth Sunday 11/30 Carson Green
Potluck Luncheon on November 29th in the Fellowship
Hall following the second worship service. Yes, that is
the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and the CLC will be Don‘t see your birthday or anniversary?
open for business! Please join us and bring a dish to Contact Tara in the church office—447-
share. 6633 or bumc78745@sbcglobal.net

N OV E M B E R I N T E N T I O NA L P R AY E R C A L E N DA R
November 1-7: Thanksgiving for all the saints of the church, both living and
deceased.

November 8-14 Thanksgiving for all who have been organ and/or tissue do
nors, and prayers that more persons (especially Christian
brothers and sisters) will be encouraged to become future
donors.

November 15-21: For the combined church conference, for the Ecclesiastes
Project, and for church leadership throughout the year.

November 22-28: Thanksgiving for all that God has given us, and prayers that we will share
Jesus as our leader and example with others.

November 29-December 5: For the Spirit to still our souls as we enter the Advent season.